Pokemon: A New Song
by Syndicate Luna
Summary: Ash Ketchum grew up studying Pokemon with Professor Oak. As a result, he came to love and care for Pokemon more than anyone else has before. But one faithful encounter with a Lugia six months before his Pokemon journey began changed his life forever. Join Ash on his journey to become the greatest Pokemon Master. Intelligent Ash, Ash x Ho-oh.
1. One Song to End and Another to Begin

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, Ash would not be forever 10

* * *

"Talking"

'_Telepathy'_

_Thoughts_

'Poke-speech'

* * *

Description

What if Ash was a prodigy with befriending and training Pokémon. What if the reason Pikachu was so hostile to Ash when they first met wasn't because he was still untamed. What if Ash spent his childhood in the areas around Pallet town learning about Pokémon. What if six months before Ash's journey began, he ran into a situation that would have cost him his life, only to have Arceus intervene and change his life forever as a result. Follow Ash as he journeys through the Pokémon world to become a Pokémon Master.

* * *

**Prologue**

Pallet Town, a small and peaceful town in the Kanto region that shares its borders with many different wild Pokémon. It is also the home of the world famous Pokémon professor, Professor Oak. We currently find the professor in his lab doing some research on an issue that has recently been discovered.

"Hmm…now why would they be acting like this. There isn't anything to disturb their homes that I can find, no invasive Pokémon, and no one in town has seen any suspicious activity in the area." Prof. Oak said to himself as he looked over some data on his computer. "There isn't anything that explains why they have been so aggressive…maybe it's-"

***Knock, Knock, Knock***

Prof. Oak was pulled out of his research by the knocking on his door. "I wonder who that could be." he said as he went to answer the door. When he opened it, he was greeted by Delia Ketchum, a former student of his and the mother of Ash Ketchum.

"Good morning Delia." Prof. Oak said as he let her in, "What brings you here today?"

"Good morning Professor," said Delia as she entered the lab, "I'm looking for Ash. His Pokémon League hat was just delivered and he has been looking forward to getting it so I thought I would let him know. Is he around?"

The Prof. shook his head, "Unfortunately you just missed him. He left to study the water Pokémon south of here to help me figure out a problem we discovered a few days ago."

"Oh? What's wrong?"

The Prof. sighed "The water Pokémon have been acting up recently. They won't let anything besides other wild Pokémon get anywhere near them. It's like they are territorial but the area they are guarding has never been in the same place and is always on the move. I've tried to get close enough to watch them so I could figure out what was wrong but I couldn't even get close, let alone stay around long enough to study their behavior. So instead I sent Ash out to give it a try. You know as well as I do the gift he has for befriending all types of Pokémon. I'm hoping that the Pokémon will trust him enough so he can get closer and see what's wrong."

Delia smiled at the thought of the trust most Pokémon give to Ash, "Yes he does have a way with Pokémon." That smile fell though as she thought about what could be upsetting the Pokémon. "Maybe there is an injured Pokémon that found its way here and the others are protecting it?"

Prof. Oak scratched his chin in a thoughtful manner, "It's possible, but what kind of Pokémon could it be to cause the other water and even some ground bound Pokémon to be so fierce in their guarding?"

***BOOOOOOM***

Before they could continue, the entire lab shook from the force of an explosion. After they both regained their footing they ran outside.

"Where did that explosion come from?" Delia said as she looked around. Her head snapped to the Prof. when she heard him gasp.

"Oh no," he said after a second, pointing to the south where a giant column of smoke could be seen. "That's the direction Ash was headed to!" They looked at each other with worried faces, then ran in the direction of the smoke.

**~ANS~**

-A few minutes before the explosion-

Ash Ketchum was walking along the path that led to the southern end of Pallet town towards the sea where he would try to find out what had the Pokémon so worked up. He had the same thoughts as Prof. Oak and his mother but he was coming to a slightly different conclusion. For while Ash was eager to learn anything and everything he could about Pokémon, and had the smarts to do so, he had a special interest towards Legendary Pokémon. But unlike other researchers that are mainly interested because there is so little known about them, Ash had this gut feeling that he needed to know, not just to discover what others couldn't, but to find that information and use it for something. What that something was, he didn't know, but Ash was never one to ignore his instincts.

The only Pokémon that would cause so many others to protect them so furiously would be a Legendary Pokémon. When this conclusion came to Ash, he was as excited as any other 9 year old kid that loved Pokémon would be. _But what Legendary would make their way here? The only ones in this region are Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, and Mew. It can't be the Legendary birds, it's mostly been water Pokémon being aggressive and whatever they are guarding hasn't shown itself. Mew is a possibility because it can transform into any Pokémon. _His excitement stopped however when he continued with this thought. _The only question now is what happened to that Legendary to make the other Pokémon so protective?_

***BOOOOOOM***

Ash was blown off of his feet by the force of the explosion that happened not far from him. _What was that! _He thought after a moment. He quickly got back to his feet and ran in the direction of the explosion.

When he got there, he was horrified and angered at what he saw. In the middle of the bay that led to the sea were dozens of heavily injured and knocked out Pokémon, and among those Pokémon was a Legendary Pokémon, but it wasn't Mew or the Legendary Birds. It was a Legendary from another region, _Lugia,_ Ash thought, _but they are only supposed to live in the waters of the Orange Islands and Johto. What's one doing out here? _Ash quickly shoved these thoughts to the back of his head, because surrounding the downed Pokémon and injured Lugia were numerous boats and helicopters all attached with weapons, and not far outside of the circle was a very large ship armed with what looked like cannons. While the large ship was doing nothing at the moment, all the smaller ones and helicopters were firing on the Lugia as it tried to defend something that Ash couldn't see. As he was looking around, he noticed a few of the boats were beached with some people in black outfits with a red R on them getting them back into the water. With his gut screaming at him to go, he didn't hesitate and ran down to the beach.

"What are you doing!?" Ash yelled as he neared the boats, "Why are you attacking that Lugia!?"

One of the people turned towards him, "Why does it matter to you kid, scram before I make you."

"Why does it matter? Legendary Pokémon exist to keep nature in balance and if one is killed then whatever that legendary controls is thrown into chaos! They never attack anything so there is no reason for you to be hurting it so why!?" Ash said in anger as he stood there.

"We don't care," the man shot back, "we want that egg it's protecting and if we have to kill it do so then so be it. But now that you know what we are doing, I can't let you go. After all, we can't have any witnesses."

Ash stood there in shock as the man made his way towards him. That shock quickly turned into anger at what they were doing. _A Lugia is extremely protective of its young, the only way they will get that egg is if it's dead. _He thought as he quickly decided what to do. _I'm not going to let that happen!_

Before the man could get to Ash, he ran forward, jumped, and kneed the man in the face. As the man fell to the ground clutching his nose in pain, Ash ran to one of the boats that got pushed back into the water, jumped in, and sped towards the Lugia. Before he could reach it though, 2 of the helicopters shot nets at the Lugia. When they connected, Lugia was wrapped up and shocked by the nets. While Lugia was in pain, a man in a third helicopter shot another net that grabbed the egg before pulling it back to him.

"NO!" Ash yelled as he neared Lugia. When he was close enough, he jumped into the water and attempted to get the net off Lugia now that it stopped shocking it. However while he was doing this, he failed to notice the cannon ship taking aim at Lugia. When the ship had finished aiming, it fired all 3 of its cannons.

***BOOOM***

The last thing Ash saw was the look of sorrow in the eyes of Lugia.

**~ANS~**

-Inside the Hall of Origins-

Arceus, god of Pokémon and creator of the universe, sat there watching in sorrow as one of his legends and his chosen one sank to the bottom of the sea, life quickly leaving their bodies. He would have liked nothing more than to save both of them but is unable to do so with his current power. _'I am sorry Lugia' _he telepathed _'without the components of the Jewel of Life, I cannot heal you and the boy'_

'_This child that tried to help me,' _Lugia answered back _'he is your chosen, isn't he?'_

'_Yes, and I fear that without him, this world will fall into ruin.' _Arceus said, his voice filled with sorrow.

'_If I may Lord Arceus, why have you chosen this child?'_

Even though no one was around to see it, Arceus smiled _'He has a pure heart and an unending love for all Pokémon. As you saw, even if it puts his life at risk, he will help a Pokémon in need without hesitation. I had hoped that he could change the view humans have towards Pokémon all over the world and stop those who seek to harm Pokémon. But sadly I can do nothing to prevent his death with the power I lack.'_

'_Lord Arceus, I may have a way to save him.' _Arceus perked up when he heard this _'Are you able to give this child my body and soul?'_

Arceus was shocked, _'Yes Lugia I can and that would indeed save his life, but are you sure? If you do this, you will be unable to be reborn.'_

'_Yes,' _Lugia said with resolve _'If my life can be used to save your chosen, then I can accept the cost. I only ask that I be able to speak with him as our souls merge.'_

Arceus closed his eyes and bowed his head sadly as a tear escaped from his eye _'Very well,' _then he raised his head, eyes glowing, and said in a voice overflowing with power _**'It Shall Be Done.'**_As he finished, there was a blinding flash of light, both in the hall of origins and the area where Ash and Lugia were.

**~ANS~**

Ash stirred and opened his eyes. He looked around but was able to see nothing but darkness around him. _What happened? _He thought,_ Where am I?_

As if in response to his thoughts, a flash of light blinded him. As he sat there trying to clear his vision, a voice was heard.

"Hello Ash." The voice said. It sounded powerful yet kind at the same time.

"Who's there?" Ash said. He was able to see again after a few more blinks and saw who was talking, "Lugia?" At Lugia's nod Ash decided to voice his questions. "Where are we? What happened? The last thing I remember was trying to get that net off of you."

"Unfortunately," Lugia began, "you were not able to get it off of me in time and the cannon ship fired and hit both of us. As for where we are, we are currently in your soul."

Ash was confused, "My soul? Why are we here?"

"We are here because the damage done to us was lethal. If left as we were, we would have both died. However both Lord Arceus and I thought of a way to save you. By giving you my body and my soul you will be given new life and a new form. The form of a Lugia to be precise."

"But why do you want to save me?" Ash questioned, "Why save my life at the cost of your own when your life is more important to nature's balance?"

Lugia smiled when Ash said this. "Because you are far more important to this world than you know Ash. My brother can handle our share of nature's balance by himself. Also because even though our lives are both at risk and you are presented a way to save your own, you want to help me instead. You have a pure heart Ash, it is because of this that I can give my life to save yours without regret."

Ash looked down sadly, "If that's your choice then I can't stop you, but what about my mom? I can't stay with her if I'm a Lugia."

Lugia looked up as if he was thinking. "It seems that Lord Arceus has given you an ability similar to that of the Eon Twins so you can switch between your human and Pokémon forms at will." Ash nodded, "Ash?" Lugia question, "I have a favor to ask of you."

"Anything Lugia." Ash said with resolve.

"I want you to protect my egg, my daughter, and raise her to be strong. I want you to make sure she lives a happy life."

"I will Lugia. I'll make sure she is safe and happy." As he said this, Lugia's form started to fade away. "What's happening?"

Lugia looked sown at himself, "It seems my time here is coming to an end. Can I ask you for one more thing Ash?" at his nod Lugia continued, "When you see my brother, tell him I am sorry for leaving so early and not saying goodbye." When Lugia finished, he disappeared completely.

Ash closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face. "I will Lugia, I promise." Then he started to glow.

**~ANS~**

-A moment before the flash-

Delia and Prof. Oak arrived at the beach as Lugia was trapped by the nets.

"What's going on?" Delia questioned, "Why are they attacking that Pokémon? Where's Ash?"

"I don't know," Prof. Oak replied, "That's a Lugia. They are normally only found in the Johto region. What is one doing out here?" The professor's eyes widened when he saw something. "What is Ash doing!?"

"Where is he?"

"He just jumped in the water. It looks like he is trying to get the net off of Lugia." Prof. Oak said while pointing.

As Delia turned to look, her eyes spotted something else. "NO!"

***BOOOM***

They watched as the cannon ship fired and hit Lugia and Ash

"ASH!" Delia screamed as she fell to her knees. Prof. Oak just stood there in shock, unwilling to accept what just happened. Then all of a sudden they were blinded by a flash of light that originated from where Ash and Lugia sank.

**~ANS~**

-With Team Rocket before the flash-

"Heavy fire unit, report" commanded a man from a helicopter circling the area where Lugia was.

"All shots hit, no barrier to interfere." Came the reply over the radio.

"Sonar unit, status on the target."

"Target is sinking, showing no other signs of movement."

"Capture team, status on the egg."

"Egg has been recovered, no damage visible."

"Good," the man smirked, "let's get out of here before-" he was interrupted by a blinding flash of light. _What was that?!_ the man thought as he cleared his vision. "Sonar team, report. What was that flash of light?"

"S-sir!" came the panicked reply on the radio, "The target is surfacing and fast!"

As the sonar team finished saying this, a giant twister made of water shot out of where Lugia sank and hit the helicopter that had the egg. After the helicopter was destroyed, it proceeded to destroy over half of the boats.

"Heavy fire unit, prepare another bombardment. As soon as it emerges, fire at will!" the man commanded. _Why won't this thing just die!_

Just then, the twister stopped moving. After a moment, it was blown apart and a Lugia emerged, but it was not the same one that they were attacking. The Lugia before them was not white and blue, but instead an almost metallic silver with its underside, eye spikes, back and tail plates being pitch black and glowing metallic silver eyes. The blood in the man ran cold as he saw the look of unrestrained fury on its face while the egg floated around its neck.

'_You will all pay!' _yelled the Lugia as a yellow orb formed in front of its mouth.

"What are you waiting for?!" the man yelled into the radio, "Kill that thing now! FIRE!"

However before the ship could fire, the Lugia unleashed the power it was charging. A yellow beam shot out of the orb, raced across the water, and struck the cannon ship making it explode.

'_Get out of my sight, and if I ever see you again, I will end all of you' _the Lugia said as it raised its hand like wings. _'Hurricane' _it said as it brought its wings down. As soon as it did, dark storm clouds rapidly gathered and gale force winds started to blow. The winds caused all of the helicopters to start losing control and the boats to almost capsize.

The man growled in anger, but took his radio, "All units retreat! Without our cannon ship we won't be able to take that thing down!" _The boss isn't going to like this _the man thought as his helicopter sped away from the angry Lugia.

**~ANS~**

Ash was panting hard as he kept the hurricane going. When he awoke after talking with Lugia, he had almost no energy, but he made a promise and he was going to keep it no matter what. When the boats and helicopters were out of site, he let go of the power that kept the hurricane going.

'_Thank you my child for keeping your word to Lugia, and I am glad you are alright.'_ A voice said in Ash's head.

'_I take it that you're Arceus?' _he questioned, _'why did Lugia give his life to save mine'_

Ash got the feeling that Arceus had a sad smile when he replied, _'He did so for 2 reasons. The first being that he knew how important your role is in future events that will happen, but the main one being that even if you gave him what was left of your life, he would have been unable to survive. But even so, when you risked your own life to help him without hesitation, you moved his heart to the point where he did not have a shred of regret in his actions taken with saving you.'_

'_I see,' _Ash said after a moment, _'thank you for telling me.'_

'_I suggest you get back to your family Ash,' _said Arceus,_ 'they are over at the end of he beach, you are almost out of energy and you will need to rest and recover. Also a few bits of advice before I go. First: keep that egg near you at all times. The child inside needs to get used to your presence. Second: prepare an area near a lake large enough to hold your Pokémon form for when the egg hatches. This way after it hatches, you can teach it to swim right away. And finally: keep your Pokémon form a secret from all but those you would trust with your life. If the wrong person were to find out, then evil organizations like Team Rocket will be after you all hours of the day. Your mother and the professor have already seen you in your Pokémon form so it's best if you tell them.'_

Ash nodded, _'I will Arceus, thank you'_

'_Goodbye my child.'_

Ash floated there for a moment before turning towards the shore where he then spotted his mom and the professor. He then flew towards them at a slow pace. When he was close enough he went to land but felt the remainder of his energy give out and hit the ground in front of them hard on his side. Ash saw the egg falling towards the ground but was able to catch it with one of his wings before it hit.

Delia and the Prof. were staring in shock, awe, and confusion at the strangely colored Lugia, wondering why it came to them. Their shock was doubled when the Lugia started to glow and shrink. "ASH!" they both yelled when the glow receded and revealed Ash lying on the ground with his arms firmly wrapped around a Pokémon egg.

"Hey Mom, Professor." Ash said before passing out from exhaustion.

* * *

Author's Notes

Take a smidgen of inspiration from The Black Latios by Mekon, add a dash of originality, mix it all together with the desire to see a decent Lugia fic, and finally top it off with how Ash should have been growing up in the same town as Professor Oak and you have this. This is my first Pokémon fic…at least the first one I deemed worthy enough to not lock it away for all of eternity. If you like it then SWEET! If you don't like it then you don't like it, though I do ask that you post a review on why to satisfy my curiosity. Also, I am writing this and my other fic, The Night's Shadow, at the same time so updates are probably going to be inconsistent. But so long as I am not at work or reading something from my seemingly endless list of fics to read, I will be writing one or the other. See you next chapter!


	2. The Journey Begins

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, Latias would be on Ash's team right now.

* * *

"Talking"

'_Telepathy'_

_Thoughts_

'Poke-speech'

* * *

Authors Notes

Speaking of Latias, I need some assistance from you readers. As I said before, shipping is undecided right now but if a ship does set sail in this fic, it will be one of my top 2 favorite ships. So I decided to let you all decide. The first ship is Ash x Latias because who doesn't love Latias. The second ship is one that isn't done often but I thoroughly enjoy whenever I find a good one, Ash x Cynthia. So post your vote in the review section for Latias, Cynthia, or no shipping, you will have until I get to the Indigo League to vote. Now, onto the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Ash stirred as he regained consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying in a bed in Prof. Oak's lab. _What happened? _he thought as he sat up to look around the room. When he did, he felt a weight on his chest and looked down, seeing that he had a white Pokémon egg with a blue stipe similar to a Lugia's eye spikes on each side. After seeing the egg, the memories of Lugia being attacked, going to help him, making a promise to Lugia when their souls merged, and what he did to the ones responsible for Lugia's death came rushing back to him. When he remembered his promise, he held the egg closer to his chest.

"I won't let anything happen to you." He whispered to the egg as he silently cried for the loss of a Legendary and, even though they only talked for a short time, a friend. While he sat there, he started humming a song (A/N: you know the one) that he didn't know before. As he did so, he felt the emotions from the egg slowly change from sorrow to comfort. He didn't know how he could feel the emotions but he decided to question it later and continues to hum.

This was the scene that Prof. Oak walked into when he came to check on Ash. He couldn't bring himself to interrupt Ash's humming of the song Lugia were known for and he found it very relaxing, so he stood there listening, waiting for Ash to finish. When he was done, Prof. Oak quietly walked over and sat in the chair next to the bed. "I glad you're awake Ash. Are you alright?"

"No Professor, I'm not alright, but I will be with time."

"Ash," Prof. Oak started, "I'm sorry if I am being direct but is that egg what I think it is?"

Ash nodded, "Yes, the Pokémon in this egg is a Lugia, the daughter of the one that was attacked…and killed." He said as a few tears escaped from his eyes.

"I see. Can you explain what happened to you?"

"I will Professor, but Mom should be here for it too. She probably deserves to hear the story the most."

Prof. Oak nodded, "I'll give her call and let her know you are awake."

"Thank you Professor. I'll be waiting by the lake on the ranch. I'm going to need some space to explain and I don't want anyone else to see."

"Alright Ash," the Prof. agreed, "We'll see you out there."

When Prof. Oak left, Ash got out of the bed and made his way out to the lake. As he walked, he started to think of how he was going to explain everything and how they were going to react. He was worried that they wouldn't accept his change, but he remembered that his mother would always love him and the Prof. was just as kind. Ash smiled at this thought, _At the very least, those two will always stand by me. _

After a few minutes of walking, he arrived at the lake and sat down. As he waited for his mother and the Prof. he thought about his journey as a trainer he was going to start in six months and his motivation for doing so. _I want to become a Pokémon master and be the strongest trainer there is, but now…I don't think that is the only reason. I want to be strong enough to protect Pokémon from people like the ones that attacked Lugia. I'm going to stop anyone I see that treat Pokémon like objects or tools. _He resolved as he sat there.

A short while later, Delia and Prof. Oak arrived at the lake and Ash was promptly tackle hugged by his mother.

"Ash, I'm so glad you're alright." She said with tears in her eyes before she quickly became angry. "Don't you ever scare me like that again young man! I thought I lost you..."

Ash hugged her back, "I'm sorry Mom, I'll try not to, but I couldn't just stand there and watch as Lugia was attacked, I had to do something."

Prof. Oak decided to jump into the conversation, "Since we are on the subject, can you tell us what happened? How did you get that egg, and how did you turn into that strangely colored Lugia?"

Ash started to explain everything that happened from when he heard the first explosion, to trying to get Lugia out of the net, and finishing with the talk he had with Lugia in his soul. "Apparently when that ship fired on us, both me and Lugia had lethal injuries that couldn't have been healed. So instead he decided to use what was left of his life to give me his body and soul to save me. In return, all he asked is that I take care of and raise his daughter so she can become strong." He said as he gestured to the egg still in his arms. "So now I'm half Pokémon/half human."

The Prof. nodded with a smile, "I'd say you're doing a fine job so far. When we brought you to the lab, I couldn't get the egg out of your arms no matter how hard I tried. Are you able to change into your Lugia form? If you can I would like to see it and I'm sure your mother would as well." He glanced at Delia who nodded in confirmation with a smile on her face.

"Sure, give me a minute to figure it out." He said as he set the egg down next to him and stood up. He closed his eyes and tried to figure out how to change. After standing there for a minute, he found something. It was a ball of warmth in his chest and when he touched it, he heard the same song he was humming earlier and felt like he was underwater. When he opened his eyes, he found that he was looking down at his mom and the Prof.

Delia and Prof. Oak watched as Ash's body started to glow and change. When the glow receded, they were looking at the same silver and black Lugia they had encountered yesterday. The reactions of Delia and the Prof. were the same yet different. They were both in awe seeing what Ash had done. Delia was amazed at the majestic beauty and power that her son radiated in this form while Prof. Oak's mind was running a mile a minute thinking of all the research he could accomplish in Pokémon and human relations with Ash's help. They were brought out of their thoughts when Ash spoke.

'_So what do you think?' _he asked with his telepathy while he floated the egg to his wing and grabbed it. Prof. Oak was shocked that his psychic powers were strong enough that he could use telepathy without difficulty while Delia was glad that she would be able to talk to her son in his Pokémon form and proud to see that the first thing he did was make sure the egg was safe with him.

"This is very interesting Ash." said Prof. Oak, "I noticed that you are using your psychic abilities without any difficulty, can you use any moves or do you have to learn from scratch?"

Ash thought about it for a minute before answering. _'It seems that when Lugia's soul merged with mine, I got all the knowledge of the moves he already knew. If I remember the names correctly, I can do Rain Dance, Hydro Pump, Protect, Recover, Psychic, Ice Beam, Heal Pulse, Hurricane, and Shadow Ball.' _He said before quickly adding, _'Oh and Lugia's signature attack, Aeroblast'_

"Aeroblast?" the Prof. wondered, "I've never heard of that attack before."

'_It was the yellow beam that I hit the cannon ship with.'_ Ash clarified. _'Also, we need to keep this whole thing about me a secret. If the wrong people, like the ones that attacked Lugia yesterday, got word of this then I will be hunted all the time, and I don't want them coming after you with the thought of using you to get to me.'_

It was Delia this time that responded. "I agree, I can take comfort in the fact that I know you will be safe on your journey with the powers you have now, but other people might not take it as well as we did. By the way Ash, what are you going to do with the baby Lugia when she hatches?"

'_The first thing we need to do is set up an area around here where she can hatch without anyone knowing so I can teach her how to swim right away. Probably the only time I'll be able to spend time with her in this form is when we are underwater. I also plan on taking her with me on my journey so I can train her alongside my other Pokémon, and I'm not going on this journey just to become a Pokémon Master anymore. I'm also going to put a stop to people who abuse or attack innocent Pokémon like the ones from yesterday.'_ He said in a dark tone filled with anger. Both Prof. Oak and Delia unintentionally backed away from Ash when they saw the look of pure rage on his face. Ash saw this and calmed down a bit before continuing, _'By the way, do you know who those people were? They were all wearing black outfits with a big red R on the front of them.'_

When Ash said this, Prof. Oak's face filled with his own anger, "That would be Team Rocket. They are a criminal organization that is bent on stealing rare and powerful Pokémon and either selling them off or using them for their own purposes against the Pokémon's will by using them to help steal more Pokémon or running experiment on them to make their Pokémon stronger." After he finished, his angered expression became a more thoughtful and confused one. "It's odd though. The Team Rocket I know of have never worn black uniforms, they always wear gray, and whenever I get word of a particularly vicious attack by them, the report always says that they wore black uniforms. Hmm…I'm going to have to look into this more thoroughly. Something tells me there is more to this than we know."

'_That's a good idea Professor. I'll keep an eye out when I'm on my journey and let you know if I find any information on them.'_

Delia stood there quietly as she listened to the conversation. She was scared for Ash when he told them about his new goals for his journey but was equally, if not more so, proud of him when she heard the conviction in his voice and quite literally saw the resolve in his eyes, as they started to glow in their silvery metallic color as he spoke. "As long as you are careful Ash, then I will support you fully and help out the professor when I have the time. You would be surprised at what can be overheard in a restaurant." She said with a sly smile, before turning more serious. "Now back to the egg, I believe you should give a name to her. It would be troublesome if someone in Team Rocket or a similar origination overheard you while you were talking about Lugia. This way when you are talking about her to the ones you trust to know about her, anyone who is eavesdropping won't know who it is until you're ready to reveal the information yourself."

Ash thought this was a good idea and started to think of some names. He had a few good ideas and started to go over them in his head, but when he got to a particular name, he felt a spike of excitement from the egg. He thought about the name again to be sure if he was correct and felt the spike again. He smiled as he told them the name. _'Lotus. Her name is going to be Lotus'_

They both looked at him curiously when he told them. "It's a wonderful name Ash, but any reason in particular you chose it?" Delia asked.

'_I think I can sense emotions and I also think that me and Lotus are linked somehow. When I was going over some names in my head and I thought of the White Lotus, I felt a spike of excitement from the egg, like she enjoyed the name and wanted to be called that.' _he responded before nuzzling the egg. _'Welcome to the family Lotus.' _He smiled even more when he felt happiness and comfort radiate from the egg. He then turned back to the others, _'I'm going to swim around for a while so I can get used to this body.'_

They both nodded and the Prof. headed back to the lab while Delia decided to stay and watch. Ash floated the egg by his side and dove into the water. He spent the next few hours enjoying the feeling of swimming around. He didn't know why but the feeling of being underwater was extremely comforting to him and he enjoyed every second of it. He decided to make it a point to come out here every day for a swim. When he finished, he resurfaced and shifted back into his human form. It was then that he noticed something that he missed when he woke up. His clothes changed from their blue and white coloration to black and silver. "Hey Mom, were my clothes this color when I changed back the first time?" he asked.

Delia nodded, "Yes they were, and that's not the only thing that changed. Your eyes are the same silver as your Lugia form now to."

"That's weird. Oh well, nothing I can do about it, although I do like the coloration." He smiled as he looked himself over.

"It does look nice on you dear. Now let's head back to the house and get something to eat. You haven't had any food since yesterday and your swimming probably didn't help with that problem." As if in response, Ash's stomach gave a roar that could have been mistaken for an Onyx. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as they started to walk home.

**~ANS~**

-Six months later, three days before the start of Ash's journey-

Ash woke up when the sun shined in his eyes. He groggily rolled over pulling the pillow over his head. _ Stupid sun. _he thought as he got up, _why can't you let me sleep in for once._ After this thought he went through his morning routine and walked downstairs for breakfast after floating Lotus' egg to his arms. He found out shortly after his talk with the Prof. and his mother that he was able to use his psychic powers and a weaker version of a few of his attacks in his human form. So far the only attacks he could manage were Protect, Psychic, Heal Pulse, and Shadow Ball but they took a good amount of energy to use. He had also grown taller and more muscular over time. Delia had quickly found out that Ash's appetite has skyrocketed and as a result he started to grow quicker. He also started to train in both his human and Pokémon forms at the professor's ranch every day. As result, he was now 5ft 2in tall and had the muscles and endurance of a long distance runner and he had also learned to use Calm Mind, Ancient Power, Hyper Beam, Arial Ace, and Steel Wing in his Lugia form.

He smiled as he walked into the kitchen and smelled his mother's cooking. "Morning Mom." He said as he sat down at the table.

"Good morning honey," she greeted back, "How are you this morning?"

All of a sudden, Lotus' egg started to glow. Ash and Delia stared at the egg then looked at each other with wide eyes. Ash then jumped to his feet and sprinted out of the house. "I'll meet you at the lake Mom!" he yelled as he ran through the door.

Ash ran as fast as he could to Prof. Oak's lab. He was so fast in fact, that if anyone else had been out, all they would have seen is a black and silver blur. _I wonder if I just learned Agility. _He absentmindedly mused as he reached the lab in under a minute. "Professor! Grab your equipment, Lotus is hatching!" Ash yelled as he made his way through the lab and ran towards the lake on the ranch. When he arrived, he sat down near the water's edge and waited for the Prof. and his mother to arrive.

About 10 minutes later both Delia and Prof. Oak arrived at the lake panting. Prof. Oak was carrying a camera and some medical supplies while Delia was carrying some food and a big pillow for Lotus' egg. She set the pillow down while Prof. Oak set up his camera a couple of yards away. Ash set the egg on the pillow and sat in front of it.

"All set here." Oak said after a few minutes. "We are recording and I have the med supplies to make sure she is healthy." Just then, the egg started to shake and glow brighter.

***CRACK***

The glow on the egg almost became blinding as it started to change shape. It didn't take long for the shape the Pokémon it was supposed to. When the glow died down, on the pillow before them sat a 4ft baby Lugia. As it looked around curiously, Ash decided to speak up, "Lotus."

Lotus' head swung around to Ash and she stared at him for a moment before bolting. 'Daddy!' she said as she tackled Ash, though to the Prof. and Delia it just sounded like the first note of Lugia's song.

Ash landed on his back with the wind knocked out of him. Lotus landed on top of him with her wings wrapped around his chest and her head nuzzling into his neck. After regaining his breath, he wrapped her up in a hug. "It's good to finally see you to Lotus." He then turned his head to Prof. Oak. "Can you check to see if she is healthy now?" Oak nodded and started to make his way over with his medical equipment. When Lotus saw this, she started to shake like a leaf with a look of fear in her eyes. Seeing this Ash started to pet her on the head. "It's alright Lotus, the Professor won't hurt you. He's just going to make sure you're healthy so we can take better care of you." Ash nodded at Prof. Oak to continue when she started to calm down. After running a few scans, he took out a needle use for drawing blood.

"Now Lotus," said Oak, "I'm going to take a bit of your blood with this. I promise it will only sting for a second and this is the last thing I have to do." When she nodded, he quickly took the sample from her left wing. She winced when the needle was inserted but did nothing else. Oak then put the sample into a machine and waited. After a few minutes a sheet of paper printed out and the Prof. looked it over. "Well, it looks like she is perfectly healthy as far as I can tell." He said with a smile.

Ash's already present smile only grew wider when he heard this. In his happiness, he came up with an idea. "Hey Professor, let's give Pallet Town a wakeup call to remember." At Oak's confused look, Ash's smile grew devious as he started to glow and change into his, as he started calling it, Silver Lugia form. When he finished changing, he reared up bellowed Lugia's song loud enough to wake up the entire town. When he finished, he scooped up Lotus and quickly dove into the water, leaving a dumbstruck Oak and Delia on shore.

Ash was chuckling as he sank to the bottom. He stopped however when he turned as saw Lotus panicking a bit while trying to swim. He quickly swam over to her, 'Calm down Lotus, we will work on your swimming in a bit. For now though just relax and enjoy the water' he said soothingly.

She quickly clamed and did just that. For a time, they both just sat at the bottom of the lake enjoying the tranquility that came with it. When Ash thought Lotus was comfortable enough with being in the water he began. 'Now, let's get you swimming. We are different from water Pokémon when we swim. We only use our wings for quick bursts of speed, instead we use our psychic powers to propel and maneuver. Our tails help us with maneuvering and when we are in water, we keep our back plates down to lessen the resistance. The same thing is true for flying except the back plates are used to add more maneuverability since we cannot flap our wings out of water because then our power would have a negative effect on the area around us, but we will get to flying later. Right now I want you to try to find your psychic powers then try to use them to swim.'

Lotus nodded and started to focus. A short time later, she was happily swimming around Ash. 'Look Daddy! I'm doing it!'

Ash smiled at her energy. 'Very good Lotus. Keep going, I'm going to talk to the Professor, I'll be back down in a few minutes.' He then made his way up to the surface, shifting back into his human form as he exited the water.

When Ash returned to the shore, he saw that his mother was setting up some food while Prof. Oak was looking over the data of the medical scans. They both brought their attention to him when they heard him exit the water. Oak was fuming a bit when he spoke to Ash. "Was that really necessary Ash? This is just going to bring question that I can't answer to my door."

Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Professor, it was an excitement driven decision. Besides, can you think of a better way to be woken up than a Lugia's song?"

Oak grumbled in response. After he regained his composure he quirked an eyebrow at Ash, "I figured you would be down there for a while Ash. Why are you back up here?"

"There are a few things I want to get clarified. First of all, do you mind if I stay in the lake with Lotus for the last few days before my journey?" Questioned Ash.

"I don't mind but why can't you go back to your house?"

"I don't want to leave Lotus alone for that long and I can't go around town with a baby Lugia following me for 2 reasons. First is that people would see her and rumors would spread, eventually reaching the wrong persons ears. Second is the fact that Gary wouldn't stop pestering me. I want to keep Lotus a secret from him as long as possible. Also, once I start my journey, the only time I'll be able to let her out is when I'm in a secluded area and the only time I'll be able to do so in my Silver Lugia form is when there is a body of water large enough in the secluded areas."

"All good reasons Ash, you have my permission." He then turned towards Delia. "I'm surprised you're so quiet about this Delia."

She just shrugged then gave Ash a proud smile. "Lotus and his journey are his responsibilities. I'll give him advice if he asks or where it's needed, but so far his decisions have been well thought out."

Ash smiled back, "Thanks Mom." He then turned back to Oak, "That also leads to my second question. How many new trainers are there going to be?"

He thought for a moment before responding, "Including you and Gary, there are going to be 4 trainers total that are starting their journeys." He stared at Ash's deadpan look for a moment before realization dawned on him. "…and I only have 3 starters. *sigh* Well I didn't want to do this but it looks like I'll have to." At Ash enquiring look he continues. "I caught another Pokémon a few days ago that I was going to give someone as a starter, but it's still irate and hostile towards anyone and it keeps trying to escape after shocking me. I want you to have a go at this Pokémon after everyone else get theirs. I wanted to talk to you after they left anyway."

Ash nodded, "That works. I'll stay out here and keep an eye on who is in the lab with my telepathy, and once the other 3 are gone, I'll come in with Lotus. Speaking of, I should get back down there." He turned around and was about to jump in but he was stopped short.

"Ash Ketchum!" Delia said in a voice that sounded more like a command. "Remember when I said I would give advice where it's needed?" When he nodded she continues, "Well now my advice is for you and Lotus is to come over here and eat something. Besides, I haven't greeted my granddaughter yet." She finished with a cheery smile on her face.

Ash chuckled and nodded. _'Lotus,' _he telepathed, _'come on up and let's get something to eat.' _A few seconds later Lotus emerged from the water and landed next to Ash.

'_Yes Daddy.' _Ash, Delia and Oak were surprised when they heard her.

"Wow Lotus," Ash said after a minute, "You figured out telepathy already? If you learn everything that fast, you are going to be very strong very fast." He smiled as he finished. "Come on, let's get some food, and you can say hello to your Grandma."

The day passed peacefully after that. Lotus took an instant liking to Delia and after they finished eating, Ash taught her how to fly. She learned this as fast as she did swimming and was soon flying circles around the three as they chuckled at her enthusiasm. When the day was drawing to a close, Delia returned to the house with the promise to be back in the morning to provide breakfast. Prof. Oak left shortly after that saying that he had a few things to take care of before the new trainers came to get their Pokémon. When they were both gone, Ash and Lotus dove back underwater and settled at the bottom so they could go to sleep. Lotus curled into a ball and Ash circled himself around her. When he was comfortable, he draped his wing over her in a subtle act of protectiveness.

'Goodnight Daddy.' Lotus said as she started to fall asleep.

'Goodnight Lotus…my child' Ash said as he too drifted to sleep.

**~ANS~**

-2 days later, outside of Prof. Oak's lab-

Ash was standing outside of the lab, waiting for the other trainers, especially Gary, to leave. He was already in his clothes that he would wear on his journey. They consisted of black cargo pants, silver and black shoes, a silver T-shirt with a black vest over the top, black gloves, and finally, his Indigo League hat. The first thing he had done when he got home after the incident was grab his hat and go to a secluded spot in the forest to change into his Silver Lugia form. When he changed back, his hat was now black with a silver front and a black Indigo League logo in the middle of the silver. Lotus was circling the lab high enough in the sky so that no one would notice her. He had been listening to what was being said in the lab and he was growing more irritated by the second from hearing Gary's constant boasting.

"I guess that loser Ash chickened out after all. I knew he wouldn't show, probably scared that he'll look like a failure in front of my talent. Though he isn't wrong." Gary laughed as he finished. Ash could feel that the other trainers were just as irritated with Gary's boasting as he was. Prof. Oak didn't hear any of it as he was out of the room getting something for them.

Ash waited there for a few more minutes before they all left. When he was sure it was just the Prof. in the lab, he opened the door to the ranch and called for Lotus. Not even 5 seconds later, she swooped in and landed next to Ash.

"Ah Ash, there you are. I know you probably want to get started soon so I will get strait to the point. First things first," He said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pokeball with a chain attached to it, "I made this Pokeball for Lotus myself to ensure it is as comfortable as possible while adding all the custom security programs into it."

Ash was in awe of the Pokeball. Instead of the regular red, white, and black this Pokeball was blue on both the top and the bottom with a white stripe around the middle where the black usually is. What made him smile though was the stylized White Lotus flower on the front of the top half of the Pokeball. After getting his thoughts back on track, he refocused on the Prof. "What security programs are in there?"

Prof. Oak grinned. "This Ash is probably my greatest creation since the Masterball. While it doesn't catch any Pokémon without fail, it can't be opened by anyone but those who are registered on it. As of right now, only you, me, and your mother can let Lotus out. This way no one will accidently hit the release function and if by some astronomical chance that someone steals it from you, they won't be able to do anything to her. I also made it so she can't be traded and can only be transferred here if you ever do decide to leave her here for a bit. This is by far the most secure Pokeball ever made. I also took the liberty of fitting it with a magnetic necklace with the same security program as the release function on the Pokeball on the magnets. The necklace is also made from titanium coated in stainless steel so you won't have to worry about it rusting or breaking."

Ash's eyes grew wider and wider as Prof. Oak explained. He was stunned for a moment when he finished, but quickly brought his focus back again. "That's incredible Professor. How long have you been working on that?"

Oak chuckled, "Since the day after the incident, and I finished it just last night. Worth every second of work in my opinion. Now a few more things before you get your starter. First is the Pokedex. While I gave the others the standard Kanto region ones, I am going to give you the National Pokedex. This one has access to information on all the Pokémon of every region. The reason I'm doing this is because I believe you have the most potential in becoming a successful trainer. I am also betting on your luck that you will come across a much wider variety of Pokémon than any of the others." Ash chuckled sheepishly and glanced at Lotus when his luck was mentioned. "Next is the fact that I talked to the President of the Pokémon League, Charles Goodshow, about your situation. Now before you say anything, Charles is a man that knows what secrets need to be kept. I told him everything from the attack to your Silver Lugia form and Lotus. After hearing everything, he made a promise that he would tell no one, not even the Elite Four and Champions of this or any other region, your secret. He is also going to inform us if he hears anything about Team Rocket, and I convinced him to add a permanent slot to your carrying capacity for Lotus. That way you will be able to keep her with you at all times along with your other 6 Pokémon. The only thing he asked for in return is regular updates on your progress to satisfy his curiosity."

Ash was silent for a moment, "Alright Professor, I trust you."

Prof. Oak nodded. "Now the final thing before you get your Pokémon. It's more of a promise from you Ash." The professors face became deathly serious in an instant. "I want you to promise me you will be safe Ash." His face changed into one filled with grandfatherly care. "I have seen you grow up and spent most of your childhood with you studying Pokémon. I see you as a grandson Ash and I want you to be safe just as much as your mother does."

"I will, I promise," Ash nodded with a small but happy smile, "…Grandpa"

Prof. Oak gave a bright smile and clapped his hands together. "Right then! Let's get you your Pokémon." They then walked to the main room of the lab. In the middle of the room was a circular pedestal where the 3 starter Pokémon used to sit. The Prof. hit a button and a small hole opened up in the middle of the pedestal. Out of the hole rose a regular Pokeball with a yellow lightning bolt in the middle of the top half. "Now before I let him out, let me warn you again. This Pokémon has been incredibly irate and hostile since I caught him and has only gotten worse every day."

"Let it out Professor, I'll see what I can do." Oak nodded and released the Pokémon with a flash of yellow light. When the light died down, standing in front of them was a Pikachu, and he was pissed.

'Let me out of here you old bastard!' Pikachu yelled while he generated a good amount of electricity that arced all over his body. Ash was angry that he, and he was sure it was a he by the sound of its voice, called the Professor that and curded in front of Lotus. He was about to say something back but stopped cold at what Pikachu said when he continued. 'I've been gone a week, I have to get back and make sure she's alright!'

Ash became serious in an instant. "Professor, where did you catch Pikachu?"

"I caught him out on Route 1. I was doing some research on why Pigeotto are starting to come around here more often when Pikachu here jumped out of the bushes ready to attack."

"Pikachu, why did you attack Professor Oak, and who do you need to make sure is alright?"

'Why should I tell you!?' Pikachu yelled, to angry to register the fact that Ash understood him. 'You'll just catch her and make her a slave like all the others!' Pikachu would immediately regret those words because as they left his mouth, the temperature in the room plummeted and he was yanked off of the platform to in front of Ash's face with his telekinesis.

"Don't you ever say that again." Ash growled out as the room shook from his anger and power, "I do not catch Pokémon to be slaves, I catch Pokémon to help them become stronger. I catch Pokémon so I can become their friends, so I can become part of their family and they become a part of mine." Seeing the look of pure fear on Pikachu's face, Ash calmed and set him back down before continuing, "Besides, if what you said was true, I wouldn't consider Lotus as my daughter." He started to pet Lotus on her head since she didn't even flinch while Ash was angry.

'_It's true,'_ She telepathed so Prof. Oak could listen in on the conversation, _'Daddy is supper nice to every Pokémon.'_

Now that Pikachu had calmed somewhat, he finally realized that he was in the presence of a Legendary and that a human could understand poke-speech and use telekinesis as well as any psychic type. 'Hold on, I've heard of humans using telekinesis before but how can you understand me and why does a Legendary think you are her father?' It was then that Pikachu noticed something else, 'and why do you give of the same feeling as a Legendary?'

Ash smirked when Pikachu asked his questions. Lotus started giggling, having picked up on Ash's thoughts through their mental link. "If you agree to bring me to whoever it is that you need to find, I'll answer your questions. After all, if we are going to be partners, we have to learn to trust each other."

Pikachu thought about this for a minute before nodding, 'Alright, but only if you promise to bring her with us and never mistreat her.'

"Agreed." Ash said. He then turned back towards the Prof. "We're good here now Professor. Was there anything else or can we get started?"

Oak just chuckled and shook his head at how quickly Ash was able to get Pikachu to calm down. "The only things I have to do now are give you your Pokeballs and transfer ownership of Pikachu to you. While 'm doing that, why don't you capture Lotus with her Pokeball."

Ash took Lotus' Pokeball and crouched to her level. "Alright Lotus. Just relax and let the Pokeball do its thing. I'll let you out when we are in a safe area." At her nod, Ash tapped the Pokeball on her head. It opened and Lotus was engulfed in a blue light before disappearing inside the Pokeball. It immediately dinged to signify a successful capture. He then clipped it back to the necklace and put it on. Just then Prof. Oak came back with Pikachu's and 6 empty Pokeballs and handed them to Ash. He took them before looking at Pikachu with a raised eyebrow. "I'm going to take a guess and say that you don't like your Pokeball." He said when he saw the look of disgust on Pikachu's face directed at the red and white sphere. After a vigorous head shaking from Pikachu, Ash just shrugged, "That's fine, you can stay out of your ball. I'll only make you go inside in an emergency."

Pikachu cheered and then jumped up on his shoulder and sat there. Ash smiled, Pikachu being there felt…right, like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together. "Well Ash," Prof. Oak said while smiling at the scene in front of him, "That's all I have for you so you better get on the move."

"Alright Professor, I'll give you a call when I get to Viridian."

When Ash arrived outside, he found his mother waiting there with his backpack, also turned black and silver, and a smile on her face. "I see you were able to get Pikachu to calm down. He is a strong Pokémon Ash, help him get stronger. And you," she said as her eyes hardened and focused on Pikachu, who flinched from the intensity of her gaze, "I want you to make sure that Ash will be able to come home safe." Her gaze then softened as she continued, "He has this unmatched skill to attract trouble and I don't want him to face it alone. The last time he did, I almost lost him. Can you promise me Pikachu, that you will always be by his side and help him?" When he nodded she smiled and gave Ash his backpack. "I have all of the necessities inside. I also got you a Pokenav so you don't get lost and you can call home any time you want. I already have mine and Professor Oak's numbers saved inside."

Ash hugged his mother, "Thanks Mom. I'll make sure I call often." He then let go and started walking towards Route 1. "Alright Pikachu, lead the way." Pikachu nodded and jumped off of Ash's shoulder before running into the woods with Ash hot on his heels.

**~ANS~**

Ash followed Pikachu for a few hours. They didn't say much while they searched outside of Pikachu trying to weasel some answers out of Ash. His main question being about why he had the presence of a Guardian Legendary. When asked what the difference was, Pikachu said that there were 3 different classes of Legendary Pokémon. There were the normal Legendary Pokémon like Heatran or Victini, then there were the Guardian Legendaries that guarded the balance of an aspect of nature like Lugia guarding the seas and Ho-oh guarding the skies. Finally, the 4 Alpha Legendaries. These Legendaries controlled an aspect of reality, those aspects being time, space, antimatter, and the source of those 3, creation. They are Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and finally Arceus respectively.

Ash decided to remember that bit of information, as it may come in handy if he ever ran into a Legendary, but still didn't tell Pikachu why he had the presence of one. Ash thought they were almost there when Pikachu perked up, but he quickly became worried when he heard pained cries up ahead. Both he and Pikachu sprinted towards the noise and came into a clearing. In this clearing were 2 Pokémon, the first being a slightly larger than normal Spearow and the other being a pure white Eevee with pinkish red eyes. Those eyes were currently filled with fear and pain. When Pikachu saw this, he sprinted at the Spearow with the speed of a Quick Attack and unleashed a Thunderbolt, hitting and blowing it out of the clearing with the power behind it. Pikachu went to check on the Spearow and nodded when he found it knocked out, then made his way back to the white Eevee. He saw that Ash was already checking her over and jumped back on his shoulder.

When Ash felt the weight of Pikachu return to his shoulder, he smirked at him. "That was impressive Pikachu, knocking it out in one hit. You are going to be a very powerful member of the team. Now, want to explain who this is?" Ash asked while using Heal Pulse to close some of the Eevee's injuries. "That's the best I can do right now, we will have to get you to a Pokémon Center to get you fully healed."

Pikachu just gaped at Ash for using a Pokémon move as difficult as Heal Pulse while the Eevee just gave him a questioning look. 'Bolt,' the Eevee said before Pikachu could start, 'Why are you with a human and why does this human have the presence of a Guardian Legendary?' her voice was level, almost deadpan, in an attempt to stay calm.

Pikachu, or Bolt as the Eevee called him, looked between Ash and the Eevee before heaving a large sigh. 'Ash, this is Eve, my childhood friend. Eve, this is Ash, my new trainer, apparent father of a baby Lugia named Lotus. He promised to help me find you, and when we did he would tell us why he is like that. Afterwards he would bring you with us so we wouldn't have to be separated. Does that explain everything?'

They both nodded, but then Ash got a sly smile on his face. "Bolt?"

Bolt just facepawed, 'It's the name Eve gave me, and I'm not changing it. I like it.'

Ash's smile only grew, "Do you just like the name or do you like name because of who gave it to you?"

Both Eve and Bolt turned beat red and were about to say something, but they were interrupted by a loud cry.

'SPEAROW! ATTACK THEM!'

They all looked to the sky and saw it filled with angry Spearow about to dive-bomb them. Ash quickly scooped up Eve and sprinted in the general direction of Viridian City. He was able to stay ahead of the flock of Spearow but was unable to lose them. After a few minutes of running, Ash came to a stop at the edge of a waterfall. He cursed quietly when he saw this. "Hang on tight Pikachu!" he said right before jumping off and landing in the water below. He stayed under for a short time, using his telekinesis to help him swim, before spotting a shoreline and heading towards it.

They emerged from the water and landed on shore, scaring a red headed girl that was fishing there. "Hey! What was that for!" she yelled as she stomped towards them.

"Sorry…" Ash panted, "Spearow flock…chasing us…needed to get away." He then heard the noises of the Spearow flock getting closer. "Which we apparently haven't done yet, BYE!" He said as he took off towards Viridian again.

After running for a while, storm clouds started to gather and lightning flashed inside of them. Not long after it started to rain heavily and Ash got an idea. "Hey Pikachu, do you by chance have the lightning rod ability?" when Bolt nodded, Ash grinned. "Ok, here is what we are going to do."

They ran for another 30 minutes to make sure that they were close enough to Viridian City that they could get there with little difficulty. Then Ash suddenly stopped and set Eve down while Bolt jumped off his shoulder and started generating as much electricity as he could. Ash turned around and faced the quickly approaching Spearow and grinned, his body being surrounded by a silver aura and his eyes glowing bright. He then raised his hand and said a single word in a voice filled with power.

"**Stop."**

When the word left his mouth, every single Spearow halted in midair, surrounded by a silver glow. "Pikachu, now!" Ash yelled when he was sure every Spearow was stopped. Bolt then ran forward and used Ash's shoulder as a springboard to get as high into the air as possible. When he reached the top of his jump, a large bolt of lightning descended from the sky and struck him. But instead of being hurt by the lightning, it was absorbed into him, making his own electricity spike in power.

'EAT THIS YOU STUPID BIRDS!' Bolt yelled as he unleashed all of his built up power. When it struck, it formed into a solid pillar of lighting that hit every Spearow in the flock, knocking them out.

Ash was sitting on the ground next to Eve, trying to catch his breath from using that much psychic energy at once. After a moment, Eve chuckled and Ash gave her a confused look. 'Why do you think I call him Bolt? This isn't the first time he has taken a lightning bolt to give himself a quick power boost. Although this one by far had the most spectacular results.' She said with a grin at the end.

Bolt landed next to them and dropped onto the ground next to Eve in exhaustion. Shortly afterwards the storm started to clear and a rainbow formed across the sky. They all enjoyed the sight, until they heard something large land behind them.

They all quickly turned around, ready for anything, but were stunned silent at what, or rather who, it was. Ho-oh, the Rainbow Pokémon, Guardian class Legendary as Guardian of the Skies, who only shows itself to those with a pure heart yet never coming in contact with them, was standing in front of them with an amused look in her eyes.

'_Hello Ash, it's good to finally meet you. Before you ask any questions, let's move to a more secluded area so no one will see us.' _she said before taking off.

Bolt and Eve looked confused. 'How are we supposed to follow her when none of us can fly?' Bolt questioned. He snapped his head to Ash when he started chuckling. 'What's so funny?'

"I guess you are going to get a quick answer to your questions from the lab." He said as he started to glow. No more than a second later, the jaws of Bolt and Eve were on the ground when they saw that Ash had turned into a fully grown silver Lugia. _'Come on,' _Ash said as he floated the two to his back, _'we don't want to fall behind and lose her.'_ And with that, he took off, quickly following Ho-oh

A few minutes later, they were in a large clearing with a lake within the Viridian Forest. Ho-oh and Ash landed and Ash floated Eve and Bolt to the ground before shifting back to his human form.

"So Ho-oh, why did you bring us out here?"

'_I'm going to be blunt with you Ash. I am coming with you on your journey.'_

Ash was shocked stupid when he heard this. It took him a few minutes to regain his senses and when he did, he asked the all-important question.

"Why?"

'_There are two reasons why I want to come with you. Those being that I believe you will be able to calm the hearts of my Sacred Beasts when you come in contact with them, and I also wish to spend time with my God-daughter and help you raise her.'_

"Wait," Ash said after recovering from shock again, "Lotus is your God-daughter?"

'_Indeed. Her father before you was a very close friend of mine, to the point where we saw each other as brother and sister. I was saddened when he was killed and wanted to come to you right away. However Lord Arceus convinced me to wait until you started your journey to approach you, so here I am. By the way, can I see her?' _Ho-oh asked with excitement.

Ash smiled, unwilling to argue with a Legendary when they make a decision. "Sure, and I'm positive she is excited to meet you." He said as he took Lotus' ball from the necklace and released her.

As soon as she finished materializing, she tackled Ho-oh at breakneck speeds. 'Momma Ho-oh!' she said as they hit the ground. Ho-oh was stunned by what Lotus called her and looked at ash who was on the ground laughing.

When he was able to breathe again, he explained. "Lotus and I share a mental connection. I don't know how or when it formed, but she hears whatever I hear, no matter the distance, and vice versa. As soon as she heard you say she was your God-daughter, she insisted on calling you Mommy Ho-oh."

Lotus then turned towards Ash, 'Daddy, please let Mommy Ho-oh come with us.' She pleaded with big, teary eyes.

Ash almost had a heart attack at the cuteness, but was able to hold it off. "I want going to deny her anyway Lotus. I know the importance of family, so the more you can have around you, the happier you will be," he said before looking at Ho-oh with a smile, "so long as she doesn't mind becoming a part of my family as well."

Ho-oh nodded with tears in her eyes. _Truly, there is no other with a heart as pure as his_

"Now, as much as I would like to stay here and spend time with both you and Lotus, I need to get Eve here to the Pokémon Center. We can come back out here when she is healed, but for now if you want to come with, I have to catch you in a Pokeball." Ash barely pulled the Pokeball out when Ho-oh tapped it with her wing to initiate the capture. Less than a second later, the Pokeball dinged signaling a successful capture. Ash sat there staring at the Pokeball for a minute. "If this is what happens on my first day as a trainer, I can't wait to find out what else will happen in the future." He said with a grin.

* * *

Authors Notes…again

Real quick before the questions are asked. Yes Ash is extremely mature for his age. He was already mature due to growing up studying Pokémon, and the merge with Lugia only increased that. Second: I had Ash catch Ho-oh right away because I could not think of a better situation than her wanting to be with her God-daughter to add her to the team. Now I must head off to work or I will be late. See you next chapter!

EDIT: Well people, due to the way I wrote this chapter, i unintentionally set it up for Ash x Ho-oh. And honestly...I'm liking it. I was thinking about how this could turn out last night during work, and came up with some awesomeness. So now this story will officially be, as I have come to call it, Guardianshipping. Also, thank you to TheGrunt22 for reminding me about the header description. As you can see, i was able to come up with a good one. Now, back to writing the next chapter!


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